How our pricing works
A structural look at certified-diamond pricing in luxury retail, and where our operating model differs.
In summary
Certified diamond pricing in luxury retail is structurally inefficient. The independent grade of a stone, set by GIA or IGI, has very little to do with the price a buyer pays at the shop counter. The difference is explained by where the stone is sold, not by what it is.
This brief sets out three cost layers that traditional jewellery retail carries, three operating decisions we made to remove them, and four implications for the way you buy from us. The conclusion is direct: a certified stone of equivalent independent grade should not cost meaningfully more in one location than another. Where it does, the difference reflects the operating model of the seller, not the diamond.
I. The cost layers in traditional certified-diamond retail
Three structural costs explain why traditional jewellery retail prices diverge from underlying stone value.
1.1 Retail real estate
Luxury jewellery tenants in prime retail locations pay materially above standard mall rates. Published data for prime mall luxury jewellery space puts annual base rent at AED 4,000 to 5,000 per square foot, with a further 10 to 15 percent revenue share paid to the mall operator on every sale.1 A 100 square metre boutique therefore carries roughly AED 4 to 5 million per year in base rent before the variable share is added. This cost is, by definition, recovered from the prices set on the stones held inside the boutique.
1.2 Sales operations
Showroom operating models are commission-based. Industry compensation surveys put sales commission at 2 to 5 percent of each ring sold, paid on top of base salary.2 The structural consequence is that floor staff have a direct financial interest in closing each transaction. The pressure that this places on the buyer is one mechanism. The cost it adds to the price is another.
1.3 Display inventory and discovery overhead
Mall jewellery stores hold inventory on the floor while waiting for a buyer to walk in. The average diamond in a physical jewellery store sits in a display case for six to twelve months before it sells.3 Every day the stone accrues rent, insurance, security, and the capital cost of money tied up. Marketing and head office overhead, typically 5 to 10 percent of revenue in the luxury jewellery category,4 sits on top.
In aggregate, rent and salaries alone consume more than half of a typical mall jeweller's operating cost base.5 The diamond on the buyer's finger is funding all of it.
II. The VYKA operating model
We made three operating decisions that remove most of the cost layers above.
2.1 Atelier-direct sourcing
We do not maintain a large standing display inventory. We source each certified stone against the buyer's brief: the buyer's shape, carat range, colour and clarity floor, certification preference, and budget. The stones we surface come directly from the international cutting trade. There is no intermediate showroom layer holding the same stone for six to twelve months before it reaches the buyer.
2.2 Made-to-order production
Every VYKA ring is hand-made by a master setter, starting the day the buyer signs off on the CAD render. Production takes three to four weeks. We do not pull rings from finished stock, because we hold no finished stock. The structural implication is that we carry no display inventory cost, and no markdown risk against stones that did not sell.
2.3 Pre-purchase inspection at grader-level magnification
Before any payment is processed, the buyer receives a 360 degree HD video of the stone at 20 to 40 times magnification, recorded under controlled lighting.6 This is the same level of optical detail used in diamond grading work, and stronger than the 10x loupe a jeweller uses at the counter. The buyer can review the video on their own time, forward it to a third party for a second opinion, and cross-reference the visible features against the independent certificate before deciding. The transaction does not depend on the buyer's trust in the seller. It depends on the buyer's ability to verify the stone independently.
III. Implications for buyers
Four practical implications follow from the model above.
3.1 The buyer verifies the diamond, we do not grade it
Every stone we sell carries a certificate from an independent laboratory. Natural diamonds are graded by GIA. Lab-grown diamonds are graded by IGI. Each certificate is independently verifiable on the issuing laboratory's public database. The certificate number is laser inscribed on the girdle of the stone. We use no in-house grading. The buyer's confidence in what they are buying does not depend on our description of it.
3.2 The buyer inspects the diamond before paying
The 20 to 40 times magnification video is provided as part of the standard purchase process, not on request. For orders above SAR 25,000, a private viewing at our atelier can be arranged where the shortlisted stones are inspected in person under a 10x loupe with a GIA-trained specialist.
3.3 The price reflects the diamond, the metal, the craftsmanship, the certificate, and our margin
There is no separate retail mark-up. There is no fixed setting fee, certification fee, shipping fee, or customs handling fee added at checkout. The price displayed on the site is the price the buyer pays, inclusive of applicable VAT and Duty Paid insured delivery.
3.4 The timeline is three to four weeks, and we will not compress it under pressure
Made-to-order production at the standard of finish we hold to takes three to four weeks. We could produce faster. We have chosen not to, because a ring set under deadline pressure shows the deadline. One master setter, working on one commission at a time, holds the grade.
IV. What this analysis does not claim
A complete brief states what its analysis does not support. Three points are worth making explicit:
It does not claim VYKA is the cheapest option in every category. Particular spec combinations may be priced lower elsewhere on any given day. The claim is structural: across the certified diamond category as a whole, the absence of the cost layers in section I produces a meaningful and durable price advantage.
It does not make a luxury-brand prestige claim. Buyers seeking the symbolic value of a particular brand name are not the buyers this model is built for. The model is built for buyers who want to understand what they are paying for.
It does not ask the buyer to take our word for any of this. The certificate numbers are public records. The 360 degree videos are shareable. The retail cost data is footnoted to published industry sources. We invite verification.
In conclusion
The buyer who internalises that observation buys differently. We built VYKA for that buyer.
